Salt Typhoon Snoops: APT Actors Hack Routers, Snatch Data, and Stir Up a Storm

This is your US-China CyberPulse: Defense Updates podcast.

Hey listeners, Ting here, slicing through some seriously mouthwatering US-China CyberPulse action. If you feel your WiFi trembling, it’s probably because Salt Typhoon is back in the headlines. That’s not the name of my favorite noodle dish—it’s the Chinese government-linked espionage group that’s been burrowing through global telecom and infrastructure networks. FBI, CISA, NSA, and a coalition of 13 countries just dropped a joint advisory on how these APT (Advanced Persistent Threat, but I call them Annoyingly Persistent Troublemakers) actors have targeted more than 200 organizations stateside, 80 countries worldwide, and even poked around US National Guard systems. Personally, I’d rather they stuck to mahjong.

The backdrop? These hackers are leveraging vulnerabilities in old-school backbone routers, especially provider edge and customer edge boxes. They slip in, overwrite firmware, and—bam—untraceable persistent access. Northrop Grumman wishes its stealth tech was this good. Salt Typhoon, along with names like Operator Panda and RedMike (which sounds like a ’90s cartoon villain), is doing more than just tech snooping—they’re snatching telecom call records, lawful intercept data, and tracking movements through hospitality and transportation hacks. Google’s John Hultquist even notes they can now figure out who you’re Skyping about your Shanghai layover and when you’re checking out at the Hilton.

Now, about defensive strategies: US agencies are urging network defenders to deploy threat hunting with the rigor of an Olympic squirrel. That means scrutinizing router configurations, patching vulnerabilities, and using fresh mitigation guidance provided in these new advisories. The focus is on sharing Indicators of Compromise, standardizing TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, Procedures), and collaborating like never before. Marc Rogers put it perfectly—it’s about leveling the playing field for the folks who’ve been stuck evicting these digital squatters.

Government policies are stepping up, too, with public–private initiatives ramping up collective firepower. Microsoft is doubling down on cross-sector efforts like Cybercrime Atlas and the Ransomware Taskforce. The World Economic Forum’s new Collaboration Framework is also guiding the setup of governance structures to scale cyberteamwork globally, with a nod to Operation Serengeti—yes, an actual multinational law enforcement bust. INTERPOL was the trusted coordinator, but the real action is all the big industry players swinging in tandem, disrupting online criminal markets and seizing profits.

On the tech front, emerging defenses are going quantum. Quantum supply chains, quantum communication, and cyber-sleuthing enhanced by AI image scaling. On top of that, signature-based threat tracking is joined by behavioral analytics and zero-trust architectures—especially critical as Chinese-linked groups (looking at you, UNC6384) deliver sophisticated social engineering campaigns and weaponized malware like PlugX.

International cooperation is popping off, especially through “Five Eyes” and new partners like Japan, Czech Republic, Italy, and Spain joining forces to share intelligence at scale. The JoongAng–CSIS Forum just concluded with James Mattis urging fresh US–Korea cyber partnerships, proving countering these threats isn’t just a Washington pastime anymore.

So, listeners, stay patched, stay alert, and maybe check your router the way you check your car brakes. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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